[MUD-dev] Fun in Games

[Brandon J. Van Every]

Paul Schwanz said:

> It would be ludicrous for us to look at Dixon's successful series
> and assume that books must be for young boys, but that's exactly
> how most of the world views interactive entertainment.  Could this
> not stem from an insistence inside the industry that fun is
> primary?

I don't see that the games industry has the competence to perform
otherwise.  Even in Hollywood, most popular films are based on a
notion of fun.  That's what all those guns, sex scenes, and special
effects are for.

> Doesn't this keep us from taking ourselves as seriously as we
> should?

If you wish to take yourself seriously, do so.

> How can we then expect others to give to interactive entertainment
> the sort of credit it deserves?

Why does it deserve credit?  I don't see that Hollywood deserves
credit for anything other than competent entertainment products that
turn a profit more often than not.  Credit goes to particular
filmmakers, not film in general.  I think when we worry about people
regarding games as garbage, we forget that the world is also filled
with garbage film, garbage art, garbage music, and reams of garbage
TV.  It's only for a few diamonds in the rough that we envision it
otherwise.

So, don't complain that people in the games industry make vapid
games.  Instead, make a great game yourself.  Put your money and
time where your mouth is.  That is the only way great Art is ever
achieved.  It doesn't happen by some committee approval process.

> Why rule out certain colors simply because they are not seen as
> fun?(*)

For the same reason that Hollywood beancounts and test markets the
endings of movies.  Film doesn't mean "great Art" just because it's
a mature medium.  If you've got your own money and can do your own
development on your own terms, great.  Otherwise, you're going to
have to please a lot of suits with ROI.  Life Is Hard.

> Do not may good paintings have both light and dark hues?

Actually, the ones that sell the most look good on a bedroom wall
and match the decor.  Fun isn't the driving factor, although it
might be, and "pretty" certainly is.

Cheers,                         www.3DProgrammer.com
Brandon Van Every               Seattle, WA

20% of the world is real.
80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.

_______________________________________________
MUD-Dev mailing list
MUD-Dev at kanga.nu
https://www.kanga.nu/lists/listinfo/mud-dev